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Jack
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Do protons decay or are they completely stable? If they do then what is their half-life?
Originally posted by chroot
In the Standard Model (which describes the strong, weak, and electromagnetic forces), the proton is stable and does not decay.
According to many of the grand unified theories (which try to unify gravity along with the strong, weak, and electromagnetic forces), the proton should decay, but perhaps with an incredibly large half-life -- something like 10^33 years. (By contrast, the universe has only been around for 1.37 x 10^9 years.)
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- Warren
Good addition -- Super Kamiokande, among other sites, have been looking for proton decay in huge quantities of ultra-pure water for a long time now. These experiments have pushed the upper boundary on proton half-life to 10^33 years, and it's still rising.Originally posted by DrChinese
Really great explanation, concise.
I might add that there are ongoing experiments being performed to detect proton decay in order to point us in the right direction. No unambiguous events have been observed to date.
Originally posted by chroot
Good addition -- Super Kamiokande, among other sites, have been looking for proton decay in huge quantities of ultra-pure water for a long time now. These experiments have pushed the upper boundary on proton half-life to 10^33 years, and it's still rising.
Anyone want to place any bets? :D
By the way, I made a mistake in my explanation -- the universe is roughly 13.7 x 10^9, NOT 1.37 x 10^9, years old. Numerical typos can be beasties.
- Warren
As in 10^33 years
Whoaa ! Even if proton decay does occur,Originally posted by Stranger
I'm sorry...but just to clarify my doubt...in
some books I read that the half life is
something like 10^45 years...
Yes, that's what half-life means. However,Originally posted by FZ+
Then, even if half life is however many
years, some protons do decay before then,
even though with extreme rarity. So it
should be possible to "catch one in the act".
Originally posted by FZ+
Actually wait... proton decay is random isn't it? Then, even if half life is however many years, some protons do decay before then, even though with extreme rarity. So it should be possible to "catch one in the act".
Protons are considered to be stable particles, meaning they do not spontaneously decay into other particles. This stability is due to the conservation of energy and the strong nuclear force that holds protons together.
Since protons are stable particles, they do not have a half-life. This means that they do not decay over time and their number remains constant.
While protons are considered stable, they can theoretically decay into other particles such as neutrons or positrons in certain conditions. However, this decay has never been observed in experiments and is highly unlikely to occur.
Protons are the building blocks of atoms and their stability is crucial for the overall stability of an atom. If protons were to decay, it would result in the breakdown of the atom and the formation of new elements with different properties.
As mentioned earlier, protons are considered to be stable particles with no observed decay. Therefore, they are believed to have an infinite lifetime and do not cease to exist over time.